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Having a Solar Blast

The Sun unleashed an M-2 (medium-sized) solar flare with a spectacular
coronal mass ejection (CME) on June 7, 2011. The large cloud of particles
mushroomed up and fell back down looking as if it covered an area of almost
half the solar surface.

SDO observed the flare's peak at 1:41 AM ET. SDO recorded these images in
extreme ultraviolet light that show a very large eruption of cool gas. It
is somewhat unique because at many places in the eruption there seems to be
even cooler material -- at temperatures less than 80,000 K.

When viewed in SOHO_s coronagraphs, the event shows bright plasma and
high-energy particles roaring from the Sun. This Earth-directed CME is
moving at 1400 km/s according to NASA models. Due to its angle, however,
effects on Earth should be fairly small. Nevertheless, it may generate space
weather effects such as aurora here on Earth in a few days.